Screenshot from PhillyOTIS slideshow depicting proposal for 51st and Lindbergh Blvd.

Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability has been meeting with neighbors in Southwest Philadelphia communities to reconstruct several high-injury corridors, making the streets safer and more user-friendly no matter what mode of transportation people intend to use.

In what will be a transformative project for sections of Lindbergh Boulevard, Passyunk Avenue, Grays Ferry Avenue, 49th Street, and Essington Avenue, OTIS has proposed a series of upgrades, protected bike lanes, greenery, shorter pedestrian crossings, rumble strips and painted pedestrian areas.

The projects are detailed on OTIS’ webpage for anyone to view. All of these streets are at least partially on the city’s High Injury Network and slowing down drivers here will be important. We will briefly discuss them here, but recommend you go through the slides and presentation at phillyotis.com if you’re really interested in these projects and how they will affect you.

49/Grays/Lindbergh

As detailed on OTIS’ website, sections of 49th Street, Grays Ave, and Lindbergh Blvd. are scheduled for repaving this year.

So, the city intends to use that opportunity to change the way the roads are laid out, making them safer.

Here are the main changes the project lays out:

Passyunk/Essington

On the highly-trafficked section of Passyunk and Essington Avenues, as shown above, OTIS has planned to install a 2-way protected bike lane to replace the two standard bike lanes currently in place.

Lindbergh Blvd.

Last, Lindbergh Boulevard will get protected bike lanes in place of the current buffered bike lanes from 65th to 84th, and will get new bike lanes in place of a travel lane between 58th and 65th.

Check it out:

These will undoubtedly have positive impacts on these corridors for years to come. And again, go ahead and check out all the projects at this link for further explanations of why OTIS has decided to remake the corridors this way.